Yesterday we attended the first Catering Forum organized by Ristoratore Top, driven by the curiosity to delve deeper and discover the marketing trends in the catering sector (here are three exemplary projects we have followed in this sector: Gu' , Lupolo , Saloon Grill and an analysis tool developed by us ).
There were 400 restaurateurs ready to become aware of the topics of marketing and web marketing, and the day revolved around the following topics accompanied by the participation of two guests:
Catering data in Italy
The upcoming trends
How to make sense of data and trends
From our point of view (not as restaurateurs, but as marketers) the day was indeed a valid training moment, but perhaps lacking in real operational ideas (especially regarding web marketing ) even if they were probably not the purpose of the day , even though it was accompanied in the first part by a series of interesting analyses and reflections on the Italian restaurant market.
How to analyze the market
The proposed analytical approach was based on the in-depth analysis of the main factors that influence the trend of the restaurant industry, namely: Italian demographics , the evolution of eating habits , the trend of the different types of restaurant distribution , the identification of current trends .
Here is a super cheat sheet of the information presented by Lorenzo Ferrari.
The Italian population
The good news is that food spending for lunch or dinner out is at an all-time high (85 billion euros according to Coldiretti), and increasing.
However, it is necessary to contextualize and remember that we are the second nation with the most "old people" in the world, we knew it, however it is useful to know that this is not the case for all segments of the population.
In particular, it is worth remembering that 8.5% of foreigners in Italy are demographically much younger than average.
In addition to being a significant segment of the market, it follows that these young people will increasingly influence the future of eating habits, both as they become adults and as they have children of their own.
Added to this is a considerable movement of young graduates from the South to the North, which creates a further pocket of "territorial nostalgics" who live in the cities of the North and can be intercepted with the right strategy.
And speaking of young people, it is important to underline how today's twenty-year-olds are decidedly "poorer" than in the past, with an average income of €30,000 a year.
They are therefore the segment with the least spending capacity and in decline, but the one on which many restaurateurs are banking. Watch out!
Eating habits
There has been an increase in the number of commercial establishments that offer catering, with an interesting detail: many of them were previously bars or shops, and have now integrated the actual catering part.
For example bakeries, butchers, etc. but also, conversely, restaurants that start retailing their products.
In particular, the main change has been the evolution of the meal from its traditional complete configuration (starter, first course, second course, dessert) to a proposal of a maximum of two/three courses, more international and often cheaper.
The different types of restaurants and distribution
Another interesting fact emerged from the comparison between the number and turnover generated by: starred restaurants, ethnic cuisine, restaurant chains, online food delivery and "independent" restaurants.
There are 367 starred restaurants in Italy, 0.1% of the total and they generate a turnover estimated by Ristoratore Top of €284,380,000 (0.33% of the total turnover of the restaurant business in Italy which, as reported above, is 85 billion Euros).
The restaurants affiliated with chains in Italy are estimated (always in the data reported in the forum) in 4500-6500 units and that is 1.63% of the total Italian restaurants (which are 337,172 in 2018) with a turnover generated of approximately 4 billion per year.
At the end of 2017, there were 22,608 ethnic restaurants, of which 6,500 were in Lombardy alone.
As for food delivery (excluding take away), it is estimated that the Italian market is worth 1.1 billion Euros, of which 350 million are online (the latter growing by 75% annually), so much so that it will soon lead to the creation of dark kitchens, i.e. restaurants without a headquarters that work only with online delivery.
The accessible cool
The contextual data reported above, says Lorenzo Ferrari, suggest a polarization of the market that will see more and more restaurants that cater either to the very poor or the very wealthy segment of the population.
Predicting difficulties for those who remain in the middle zone, and success for those who will be accessible, but trendy (cool)
Trends of now and the near future
What are the format/style trends to evaluate now?
Speak Easy
Fresh Industrial
Natural Style
...and coming soon:
Eclectic 50's
Contemporary decorative
Instagram Style
What about you? What do you think are the priorities in restaurant marketing today? Join the discussion in the comments below!
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